February 1st, 2018 by WCBC Radio

(PIKESVILLE, Md.) — With the Super Bowl just a few days away, the Maryland State Police will be focusing on statewide impaired driving enforcement efforts during the weekend and would like to remind motorists to drive sober or get pulled over.

Enforcement this weekend will be bolstered by impaired driving saturation patrol funds from the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office. The Highway Safety Office has planned an initiative to enforce impaired driving violations.

This US 40 corridor initiative will be supported by the Cumberland, Hagerstown, Frederick, Waterloo, Golden Ring, Bel Air and North East barracks along with other allied agencies that patrol the corridor. This initiative is focused specifically on impaired driving violations on the roadways throughout the state. The State Police Impaired Driving Reduction Effort Team, otherwise known as the SPIDRE team, will be out in full force this weekend.

Since its inception in May 2013, the SPIDRE team has made 2,539 DUI arrests, 120 criminal arrests and 7,771 traffic stops while also issuing 17,223 citations and 3,734 warnings. The goal of the SPIDRE team is to focus on reducing alcohol related crashes in Maryland by targeting areas across the state with high crash rates involving impaired drivers.

On average, there are 7,884 impaired driving crashes statewide annually, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation. Make sure using a designated driver is the number one play in your playbook and have a sober driver chosen before going out for the night.